The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Maps are visual representations of information pertaining to the geographical location of natural and man-made structures. A traditional map, such as a road map, includes roads, railroads, hills, rivers, lakes, and towns within a prescribed geographic region. Maps were customarily displayed on a plane, such as paper and the like, and are now also commonly displayed via map applications on computing devices, such as computers, tablets, and mobile phones.
Many map applications provide the user with the ability to select the type of map information or features to be visible or hidden from view as well as to adjust the display of the map. For example, the user may select among several scales and map viewing modes, such as a map mode that presents a traditional road-map view, a satellite mode that presents a photograph taken above the geographical region, or a street-level mode that presents a photograph taken of the surrounding area at ground level.
Maps displayed on computing devices are able to provide information not available from traditional paper maps. In particular, computing devices may provide the user with a photographic image of an object located within the boundary of the map that may be displayed on the screen. For example, a small visual indicator such as a thumbnail image may be displayed along with the map. The thumbnail image denotes that a photograph associated with a particular object physically located within the geographical area represented by the map is available for viewing. Upon the user's selection of the thumbnail image, the associated photograph will be displayed on the screen.
Although providing additional map information to the user can improve the map viewing experience, the manner in which the additional information is provided may interfere or distract the user's attention from the map. Thus, a need remains for providing additional map-related information to the viewer in a manner that is more responsive and complementary during the map viewing session.